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Tallahassee Fire Department photographs and oral histories, 1880s-2012.
Amount:
1161 photographs 0.25 cubic ft.
Medium Included:
photographs
Organization/Arrangement:
Numeric by staff-assigned image number.
Restrictions:
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:
The Tallahassee Fire Department provides emergency services for fires and fire hazards as well as first response to biological, chemical, and radioactive hazards. Its mission is to prevent or minimize the loss of life and property, protect the environment, assist in cooperative emergency medical services, mitigate the consequences of natural and unforeseen disasters, and provide non-emergency support services in the City of Tallahassee and Leon County.
In 1843, a fire began in the Washington Hall boarding house in Tallahassee and destroyed more than half of the city. Volunteers saved the new capitol building under construction and although no one died, many downtown business burned. After other devastating fires, the Tallahassee community purchased firefighting equipment, including a fire engine in 1855 and a 250 foot hose in 1860. The city built cisterns throughout and took other preventative steps such as limiting the storage of cotton within city limits. Private and volunteer fire companies, such as the Vigilantes and Hook and Ladder Company, served Tallahassee's need to combat fire during the mid-nineteenth century and Civil War. Then in 1868, the city passed a resolution to appoint a fire chief. In November of that year, T. J. Rawls became the first Fire Chief of Tallahassee.
In 1896, Tallahassee installed its first alarm system, consisting of eight telephones and a bell, and in 1900 formed a Fire Committee. Although false alarms were a problem, the growing city experienced enough legitimate fire emergencies to establish additional paid positions to supplement the volunteer firefighters and Fire Chief. In 1920 there were 60 fires in Tallahassee and the city built a new fire station at the corner of Park Avenue and Adams Street. By 1930, the Tallahassee Fire Department had six full-time staff members and two trucks. The city built the Station 1 building at the corner of Adams and Virginia streets in 1971; this station is still in use today. By 1989 there were 14 stations in Tallahassee. The city added a 15th fire station in 2000 and would experience profound changes in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, being integrated more fully into federal administered disaster response systems. In 2005, Cindy Dick became Tallahassee's 11th Chief of Fire, and the first woman to the lead the department.
Summary:
This collection consists primarily of Tallahassee Fire Department images dating from the 1880s to about 2005, along with oral history interviews of several Tallahassee Fire Chiefs. The images depict residential and business fires, fire prevention training in schools and businesses, railroad and aviation accidents, and firefighting equipment, vehicles, and stations. Most of the images are of Tallahassee and the surrounding area, though there are a few of Pensacola and Lake City. The oral histories include interviews conducted in 2011-2012 with Tallahassee Fire Chiefs Ridgeway Coe, Clyde Lee, Raymond Love, and T. E. Roberts, along with transcripts of the Coe, Love, and Roberts interviews.
Finding Aids:
Folder listing available. 0
Additional Physical Form:
Images from this collection have been digitied and are available on the Florida Memory web site: https://www.floridamemory.com/discover/photographs/
for detailed listing.